#Say-say as a nickname

[crumb-crumblet-s-crumbington]

the high guards littlest fan

[givemeureyes]

do you think that dean calls cas “castiel” one time and cas shatters every light bulb in the bunker

[justn0t]

shadow milk is an overdramatic stupid clown for 99% of the time and then for the 1% he just says some shit like this and goes right back to being silly

[quicksilversnails]

It's so fun how the Princess and the Dragon acknowledges and plays with game mechanics that are assumed to be non-diegetic, and uses them to add insight to the story/characters.

The title card is a really obvious example, being something that TLQ actually sees and can comment on, and something that the Princess hadn't ever seen. What most would assume is just a framing device for the player is a real element of the world/construct.

I think it emphasizes how the story that the Narrator constructed is only "meant" to be told to TLQ. After all, The Narrator only appears in TLQ's mind, providing elaborate descriptions and attempting to contextualize the events of the game as a heroic task to save the world. Meanwhile the Princess is all alone, with no title cards or exposition, no context for why any of this is happening to her. The story revolves around her, but it doesn't care about her beyond her designated role, as something to be slain and hated. Her perspective is irrelevant to the Narrator's plan, so she doesn't get the fancy presentation or necessary context: she doesn't deserve it.

There's also those long stretches of dialogue where the voices talk to each other in TLQ's mind without progressing the story. They're occasionally acknowledged by the Princess elsewhere (Prisoner, Nightmare) but P&tD makes it very explicit and confirms that time is actively passing during these conversations, with TLQ staring in silence for who knows how long.

(Personally I don't think all of the voice dialogue is necessarily in real time, if only because some Princesses wouldn't have had the patience for it. Like if you had really stood still for that long, the Beast would've definitely eaten you... she's not waiting for you to finish thinking lol)

This one I think is more for humour, but it also draws attention to how much of the inner conversation the Princess is missing in normal chapters, when the voices aren't actively speaking to her through TLQ's body. Where we're having vibrant debates or key information revealed by the Narrator, she just sees a silent, staring figure. Speaking of the Narrator, He's completely absent from the Princess' POV, either because He doesn't want to speak to her or is somehow unable to (He does say in Tower that she's not supposed to be able to interact with Him...) Again, the story was not made to be told to her, so she isn't given His context, and because the player is usually so immersed in TLQ's perspective, they probably wouldn't realize just how much she's missing until they see things from her perspective.

One other example: if you choose to [Say nothing] immediately after you excise yourself, the Princess reacts to it:

I just find this so hilarious tbh, and the fact that she repeats back those exact words implies that she literally senses the text written in brackets. If you do it once you're back in the basement, she says this:

I wonder if it's the same for the Narrator/voices... do they also “feel” your actions while you’re choosing them? Do they hear you say (Lie) before you lie? When Skeptic said "Wink" out loud did he actually choose a dialogue option with [Wink] in brackets?? Ok that last one's a joke but there's lots of potential here

I just think it's cool because the average player wouldn't think twice about any of these things, because they seem like simple stylistic/game design choices. In a game where all player input is through dialogue options, the square brackets are an immediately understandable way to convey action, as opposed to plain text. In a game structured around repeating loops, it makes sense to make those loops distinguishable for players by separating each loop with a title card, and the chapter naming convention works as a nod to the fairytale storybook aesthetics the game draws from.

But by placing you into the Princess's head and acknowledging those design choices as diegetic elements that change depending on your perspective, it forces you to reevaluate your experiences: the things you didn't think were really "part of the game" and the experiences you didn't realize weren't universal. It exposes your hidden privileges, the luxuries and structural supports you have compared to the Princess that you don't even notice because you've never experienced the alternative.

It might make you realize how the way you perceive and conceptualize the world might be very different from how others conceptualize it (Tony's recent ask about the multicoloured glass in HEA could also play into this in a fascinating way, with the mismatch in perception between TLQ and the Narrator's script). It's all just very cool for a game that's based on perception.

It also makes me wonder... what other elements of this game are diegetic that we just haven't paid attention to?

Well, I think that the captions are probably also diegetic. TLQ occasionally refers to the voices by their complete titles despite them not ever referring to each other by those titles, instead opting for descriptors like "jumpy one" or "the worst one" or "rage boy" or "chilly little freak" lol. For a direct comparison, Paranoid exclusively calls Smitten "the lovesick one" or some variant in HEA, but TLQ refers to him by his full name using quotation marks, as if he's quoting something he's read:

The voices don't seem aware that these titles exist, while TLQ does, despite them sharing a mind. Also, when the Princess shares a body/mind with you, she never uses their titles either. In the Spectre/Princess and the Dragon, she calls Hero "the nice one", Cold "the quiet one" or "cold little freak", and the Narrator "the bossy one" or "that murder-happy know-it-all". Spectre describes the voices as shards of broken glass on the floor, so she likely perceives them completely differently to how we/TLQ see them.

Even The Narrator isn't aware of His title. If you call Him that in the mirror conversation, He says "'The Narrator'. I suppose that's my job, isn't it?", reacting to the title as if it's His first time hearing about it. There's also this question from the fourth Shifty encounter:

It seems like the titles are presented specifically for The Long Quiet/decider, and that they somehow reflect how TLQ perceives the voices/Narrator, since TLQ takes credit for "calling him" that. If the captions were specifically shown to TLQ in the same way that the title cards are, it'd explain how he has this information without it ever being verbally told to him, and why the Princess doesn't know their titles even when she's sharing your body.

But besides the captions, I think it could be fun to interpret the game as if most, if not all of its game mechanics exist in-universe. The choice menu, the music, the cursors, the save/load icons, saving/loading in general, the title screen, the Clown Princess living in the walls (game files), you name it. Let’s peel away these game mechanics cell by cell! Let's see what meaning we can find together, let's see what we're made of!

[kiksniko]

more of this cursed braces!dazai AU. he needs to re-evaluate all his nicknames now

[pinofdnp]

<3

[cryptic-underground]

"He almost never used Stanford. And He almost always used Stanley."

--

Another mini comic I couldn't get outta my head. I'm haunted by these two/pos

I remember making a post about Ford having the sole privilege of being allowed to use the nickname Lee. Well, I have a similar hc about Ford using the name Stan—it's not super happy. (Which is what the comic is centered on).

((Abuse mention tw for what I'm about to discuss.))

It's specifically about Stanford saying it when he's angry, upset, exasperated, etc. Because Ford can sound like their dad I fine when he yells sometimes. And with how differently Stan was raised compared to his twin, yeah, it doesn't mix well.

I was also inspired a bit by the fic "Clay Pigeons" by PoggoFroggo on ao3, which I was recommended. And you should give it a read! It goes more into the idea of Stan and Ford having two couple different childhoods by comparisons. (I also recommended their other Stan twins fic. They're all great.)

[castiels-undercoat]

I think when Dean and Cas finally do start having sex Cas is rlly like slow and soft w it everytime and it lowkey pisses Dean off sometimes. He like "i SAW what you did with meg! Do thats to me just one (1) time bro."

[sualne]

matching shirts for matching nicknames

[notyourmusebby]

I find it so interesting that Carlos and Charles have their nicknames on tags on their Pro Athlete caps (pro athlete caps are exclusively issued to the drivers as team-wear that can’t be purchased).

Their nicknames being: Smooth Operator and Lord Perceval.

Carlos gave Charles that nickname after hearing Charles’ whole name for the first time. I just love how Charles has embraced it to the point of having it even on his special caps, is such an intimate detail.

📷 filip.stayout

x

[sorry-not-feeling-it-right-now]

Smitten would be the type to absolutely abuse nicknames instead of referring the other voices by name

Instead of Hunted, it’s “vigilant protector”; instead of Skeptic, it’s “the inquisitive one”; instead of Cold, it’s “frosty fellow”(formerly “You” or “villain”) etc etc

[lovepink4everr]

you know exactly what I mean, pretty boy😒

[a-cipher]

whiteboard ethubs baby

[willgrahamscock]

My headcannon for Crowley is that he’s always eepy, and he often falls asleep in the bookshop if there’s prolonged silence because he just feels safe. Aziraphale always takes off his glasses for him so he can be more comfortable, puts it by the entrance. This always wakes him up and he sleepily mumbles “Azira” and he never tells Crowley because he only does it when he’s half asleep but he daydreams about it and gets excited when Crowley seems tired, hoping to hear how soft his name sounds in his mouth

[iridescent-serpent]

Been in a bayverse mood lately (if yall couldn’t Tell), and ended up thinking about how sparklings/baby mechs would work! (Unfortunately I could Not find any online IDW bayverse comics so this is all very speculative/theory for now)

Also shoutout to @orion-archives and their “sentinel is Oppy and megs dad” as I Did feature that here :)!

Plus some of this text post bc it’s canon to me forever and ever

Just some simple doodles, nothing more

[itsriotmotherfuckers]

Little Teddy doesn’t know what Daddy’s name is, but they figure it must be either “Moony,” “Love,” “ma Lune,” “Amour,” or “Chéri,” because that’s what Papa always calls him. They assume that at a few of the names must be nicknames, because, as far as they know, people only have one name. They’re pretty sure his name is Moony, though, because that’s what James and Peter call him, too.

Papa laughs for five whole minutes when they tell him their conundrum. Daddy just smiles like he does when they show him their cool jumps and tells Papa something in Welsh.